Ash Barty has revealed her reason for quitting tennis after winning the Australian Open last January, with the former No. 1 sounding happy to have finally buried her on-court career.
The Australian who earned a comfortable USD 21.5 million in career prize money, told Newscorp that her motivation started to die after winning Wimbledon in 2021.
She hinted that she just held on into this season and capped it all by claiming her home Grand Slam with a finals defeat of Danielle Collins nine months ago.
Barty will spill all in a memoir to be published in time for the holiday selling season, My Dream Time, a reference to her Aboriginal roots.
“After that feat (Wimbledon title), in June 2021, the fire died inside,” Barty wrote.
“I don’t know what I’m playing for anymore. I think I’m done – “I have got nothing left, no spark.”.
The 25-year-old who has married since stepping away from the sport said her new life is complete without tennis.
“The last six or seven months of my life have been everything I have ever wanted,” Barty said
“I’m loving the way my life is at the moment. I won’t even be estranged from the tennis world … but I just won’t be out there for me.’’
While she is a dab hand at golf, Barty emphatically said she did not give up tennis to move onto the links.
“You guys just can’t accept that I don’t want to play professional sport anymore,” she said in a Melbourne radio interview.
“I love golf, it’s a hobby of mine. It will not be my profession, I have no intention of making it my profession but I hack around once a week if I can – and I play off four.
“There’s no need, there’s no desire for me to play professional sport, particularly golf. I love it as a walk-around with my girlfriends and friends but yeah, not for me.”
Main photo:- Ash Barty won Australian Open Daphne Akehurst Trophy in 2022 – by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
